The Death Penalty

[DragonOfChaos]

Okay, probably an overused topic, but we were discussing it in my history class today and I want to see some other opinions.

About a third of my class said the death penalty was inhumane and should be abolished.

Another third said they should leave the death penalty alone, and that the system works as is.

The final third, myself included, think that those sentenced to the death penalty should be carried out sooner.

My opinion is that the one sentenced to death should be allowed one appeal. If the appeal fails, the sentenced should be allowed a day or so to say goodbye to loved ones and friends. Then they should be killed. I don't particularly care how, but they should die a lot sooner than they do now.

 

[Onmyoji the Hidden]

I don't know about all that. Let's look at the bare facts. The death penalty is the penal system's attempt to demonstrate that certain crimes are wrong by killing someone. Isn't homicide a crime? That just doesn't sit well with me (hypocrisy?). As for the appeals process, it is there for a reason, to further decrease the chances that an innocent man/woman gets killed.

 

[Induhvidual_1]

im quite liberal... but I hafta say keep the death penalty.
some bastards are just sucking up tax dollars living in prison.
and when you do it, carry it out sooner... thats the only way to teach them. man that mcveigh thingy took a long time before they finally put the scum out.

 

[N[U]TS]

im quite liberal... but I hafta say keep the death penalty.
some bastards are just sucking up tax dollars living in prison.
and when you do it, carry it out sooner... thats the only way to teach them. man that mcveigh thingy took a long time before they finally put the scum out.

i agree ...just think, your paying for them to live in a better housed area than alot of the lower class citizens...they get tv,pretty good food, gym, books etc. wth are we doing here? if you are convicted unanimously...then yea death to him righty away.

 

[Undead Cheese]

The point of the appeal process is to prevent innocent people from being killed/detained. Countless people have been vindicated of crimes they were convicted of 5, 10, 15+ years ago because of recent developments in the fields of science. Should the death penalty be abolished? No way! Should there be some form of speeding up the sentence? Yes, but that something should not be the limiting of appeals, unless, I believe, the amount of evidence against the person in question is monumental and leaves practically no room for reasonable doubt.

 

[MC90]

Ok, heres my thought on this.

If there was no death penalty, there would be alot more crime, since criminals wont have to worry bout dieing, but spending time prison. So. YES. There should be a Death Pentaly. But, the only reason they should die, is if they are defitly have done the murder(Crime). And not evidece is found, he should be allowed to live in the Life Imprisonment. The Life Sentence is alot more brutal then the Death, since the criminal will be locked up and will be bored to death and eventually die longer. So in either way you look at it, there both Death Sentinces.

 

[jd-inflames]

I can side with just about every point made here...but I'm still very much for it. Actually, I think we should execute everyone who is spending more than 30+ years in prison. Why waste US tax money on criminals food and shelter? Hell...we got homeless people getting less attention.

That almost wants me to make a new topic...if you were homeless, would you go on a killing spree just for food and shelter? :rolleyes

 

[amrtin77]

i wouldnt kill another human for food and shelter. maybe if for some strange reason i couldnt find ANY work, id steal food from a grocery store or something. if i got caught who cares? go to jail for a few nights get fed.

im for the death penalty.. but it needs improved. too much money being spent on the damn trials... the quicker we can safely prove someone guilty the better. and alot of the time the question isnt even if theyre guilty, its "is this crime worthy of the death penalty?" thats bullshit.... tell us whats worthy of the death penalty before the goddamn trial. make some guidelines so we dont waste all that money and time on each case. we have to make the moral judgement "what is worthy of the death penalty?

 

[MC90]

THe reason they wait, is to make sure they have the "right" murderer. Think about an innocent little man who was just there trying give out free bibles to the neiborhood got caught and was put into the death penalty

 

[DragonOfChaos]

But these trials just take too much time. A simple murder case can take years to play out in court, and the man they're prosecuting doesn't have anything to do with the murder other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the mean time, the real killer is hiding himself so well that it'd be impossible to find him and clear the inoccent man.

 

[Tipsy]

There are two main reasons why I think the death penalty is wrong. The first is a pretty easy one if you have read many of my posts, my religion. This one is just it is murder, and to me I don't see how any crime is justified by killing the criminal.

The other reason is it really doesn't fit the puzzle piece of what to do for me. Our penal system shouldn't be to just throw people in to prison and hope they get better. Many people go into prison and come out worse criminals than they were. Our penal system is screwed up, as it is now, it is a pointless system that just eats away at our tax dollars. But death penalty? I don't think that is a way to fix it. Instead of killing people, we should have a penal system that does what it is suppose to be, rehabilitate people. Everyone makes mistakes, just because yours was worse than mine and made you go to jail, does that mean that I am better than you and you do not have the right to live? If anyone has read the book Utopia, it talks about the English killing people who try to steal food because they can't get it any other way. The reaction by the people who can't get food is they tend to kill all the witnesses because they will be killed anyway, why make it easier by leaving witnesses? It is the same way here. Though some people may never be rehabilitated, it should be at least tried, may people could become renewed people with a second chance at life. As for life in prison, I really don't think that should just be a given, it should be you stay in jail until you are rehabilitated, if that takes all your life and you die in prison, than at least it was tried.

 

[Emperor Pan I]

Canada hasn't had the death penalty since the 1960s. Were better off for it.

How can you seriously say "you killed someone your wrong, so were going to kill you". Are you not doing exactly what you set out to prevent? Not to mention the cost of administering the death penlty, especialy the length of time before he is actualy killed.
Plus you cannot forget the fact that those who were killed have been proven innocent years later. Is that justifyable?

 

[dreamcrusader]

You kill someone you get killed. There. GG

 

[Lights]

Just a note: Back in the 70's there may have been some verdicts given that were false, and innocents were sent to death row. However, in this day of science with DNA and Forensic science, if the chances before were slim-to-none, they are virtually nonexistant to not be correct. That isn't a very strong argument.


As for cost, I have no problems reverting to public hangings.

 

[Undead Cheese]

The only reason putting someone to death costs so much is because of the lengthy appeals they go through.

 

[DragonOfChaos]

That, and why should we let murderers and rapists go through a death that is as simple as falling asleep? Shouldn't they be made to suffer the same humilating/painful death they inflicted on their victims? To quote Ron White, "If you kill someone in Texas, we will kill you back."

 

[RuneyPoo]

I don't believe in capital punishment at all. It is wrong on so many levels. They make mistakes, go around killing people. Who the hell cares, make their lives hell in prison. Give them a life sentance. Don't give them everything they deserve, death. Death doesn't give them pain, it takes away from a life time of pain and punishment inside prison.

From me knowing about the Correction Facilities up here, it isn't very fun at all. You say one thing wrong, give the wrong look, don't keep to your word, take back your bet in a card game. You get your ass jumped by seven to ten people who are twice your size. Keep in mind, that is punishment.

Why take someones life, that is just doing them a favor. They are going to die in prison someday if you give them a life sentance. Why not make their life hell? I don't understand...

 

[Undead Cheese]

I personally don't care if the death penalty is easier on them than life in prison is. Putting them to death saves resources and costs less (excluding the appeals process, which needs to be somehow reformed)

 

[Lights]

It is rather easy to say that life in prison is "harder" when your life is not on the line. I am not one to say that having your life ended is the 'easy way out.' Maybe quicker, maybe less painful, but you're dead. :/


I will kick and scream to keep from death. Not that I have any desire to live in a cell for my life, mind you.

 

[TheNamelessYam]

my sister posted as me. psht.